Interview With Roota Choksi from The Purple Back Pack

1) Please tell us a little about yourself and your origin.

I am a Software Engineer by education from DAIICT , Gandhinagar. I was working with a multinational company from the past 3 years as a software engineer. I recently quit my job to become my own boss and to start my own venture. Quitting my high paying job and starting out on my own was difficult, but I desperately wanted to work for myself. That led to me focusing fully on www.thepurplebackpack.com, where I travel to offbeat destinations and write about it. I want to inspire more people to travel and have life changing experiences as I did. I also give Personalised Holiday Planning services to people by considering their preferences and giving them a perfect holiday.

2) Do you travel solo, with your family or in a group of friends?

I love travelling solo. Spending time with myself is what I cherish the most. I also like to travel with friends as that is a different kind of fun.

3) Other than travelling and blogging, what other interests do you have?

I like to dance and am a voracious reader. I love to write to inspire people.

4) What’s one experience that you think every traveller must acquire?

Travel’s best part is the unique experiences of meeting people different than you. Whether in the hostels, or while hiking up a mountain , or meeting locals and knowing their stories. Don’t be in your comfort zone while travelling, do what scares you the most. That includes talking to a lot of people, making many new friends and knowing their stories. People all over the world live a lot differently than us, and we can learn so much from them.

5) What has been your most favourite blog post till date and what is it all about?

My most favourite one is about planning a budget Europe trip where I guide you to make the best out of your buck. I travelled 4 countries of Europe very lavishly in $2300 and had an amazing time.

I also visited Switzerland , which is one of the most expensive countries to visit and still managed to explore it on a budget. You can read about it here : https://goo.gl/0MqOAC

6) If not travel, what else would you have done?

I probably would still be a software engineer, being miserable sitting by the desk.

7) What’s your most favourite holiday destination in India and why?

Andaman Islands for the sheer beauty of it.

8) Since you have travelled abroad, how was the experience in general and how different it is from the ones you have in India?

India is an extremely challenging country to travel in. So it teaches you a lot. Europe was very clean, the people were warm just like India in some places more than the other and the food was amazing. Though I always miss Indian food wherever I go. Thailand seemed more closer to India, since there are so many Indian restaurants there to entertain the Indian tourists. Every country is beautiful and I aspire to explore most of them before I die.

9) Did you have any goal in the first place when you started

Thepurplebackpack.com, Has the goal somehow changed with course of time? When I first started ‘The Purple Backpack’ , it was a hobby and purely out of love for travel. I didn’t think I had quit my job because of that travel bug. I love inspiring people to travel more and to help them to live a happier life.